Mixing apparatuses in which vessel contents are mixed are sufficiently well known. For laboratories, in particular, there are mixers which can also mix small amounts of liquid by virtue of the fact that small containers are also combined in very large groups of tens, hundreds or even thousands in suitable holders, so-called “exchangeable block modules” (apparatuses which are intended to accommodate vessels and can also be used for temperature control). Such exchangeable block modules as well as the reaction vessels can be standardized. For example, there are reaction vessels having a content of 0.2 ml, 0.5 ml, 1.5 ml and 2.0 ml—as well as respective suitable exchangeable block modules which are standardized for the latter. In addition, there are, for example, exchangeable block modules for cryo vessels, for Falcon vessels (1.5 ml and 50 ml), for glass vessels and glass beakers, for microtiter plates (MTP), for deep well plates (MVP), for slides and for PCR plates having 96 wells. This list is not exhaustive but indicates the wide variety of laboratory vessels which exist and for which the mixers should be suitable. For this purpose, there are standards and rules for the so-called “footprints”—namely the base structure of exchangeable block modules. ANSI SBS-1, SBS-2, SBS-3 or SBS-4 (as at 2004) shall be mentioned here by way of example.
Since these exchangeable block modules are, in principle, designed in such a manner that the individual vessels are inserted into them from above, a mixing movement which oscillates in a circular and translatory manner and essentially takes place in a horizontal plane has become established for the known mixers. For this purpose, in the known mixers, an electromotive imbalance drive is generally responsible for putting a “table” into this circular movement. To this end, said table is known to be mounted in a different manner: mounting in linear rolling bearings (so-called spherical bushes) in the two horizontal directions is known, for example, but film hinge mounting is also known. Alternatively, there is also electromagnetic mounting or mounting using piezoelements which can each likewise also be used as a drive. Such mixers are usually driven at a rotational frequency of 200 rpm to 1500 rpm. The frequency can generally be set.
Although, for the purpose of mixing the abovementioned various reaction vessels in exchangeable block modules, the known mixers are entirely suited to being used in a very versatile manner in order to mix very different reaction vessels, other vessels outside this geometric standard can only be mixed using other mixing apparatuses, which are respectively set up and suitable for this purpose, on account of the mock-up fastening needed to hold the exchangeable block modules. Therefore, there are also other appliances, in addition to a mixer of the described type, in most laboratories. For example, a so-called “vortexer,” which grasps the bottom of a vessel that is manually held on the latter and drives it into a rotational movement so that a vortex forms in the liquid in the vessel and this liquid is mixed, is in widespread use.